Casey

Matthews

Brian Rolle will stay on the weak side, leaving Akeem Jordan as the odd man out. Chaney will likely give way to Casey Matthews or Keenan Clayton on passing downs, limiting his production in IDP formats. Chaney expects to be recovered from neck surgery by training camp.

“When you’re 4-8 and not playing defense the way you’re supposed to, they’re going to make changes,” explained Chaney. Matthews hadn’t played on defense since his early-season benching. The Matthews-Keenan Clayton pair is the fourth different nickel combo for Philly this season.

Chaney is heading to his third linebacker position in three years, but he’s a better early-down choice due to his size advantage. At under 5'10", Rolle is ideally suited to a nickel role. Casey Matthews, up 15 pounds from last year, is working as the backup to middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans while Mychal Kendricks is penciled in as the strong-side starter.

“I’m almost there, there’s just a little stiffness in it, they’re just trying to get that out,” said Matthews. “I should be ready by Week 1.” Lining up behind DeMeco Ryans as the second-team middle linebacker, Matthews was having a strong camp before the injury.

Beat writers noted that Matthews looked “huge” at workouts a few weeks ago. The added bulk should help Matthews in the run game, where he was too often washed out as a rookie. As the team’s primary nickel backer down the stretch, though, the extra bulk could slow him in coverage. Matthews still projects as a situational player for 2012.

Coach Andy Reid confirmed Friday that he will be shuffling his linebackers depending on the package. Ryans, Mychal Kendricks, Akeem Jordan, Brian Rolle, and Casey Matthews all could see the field at various points on Sunday. This is a huge blow to Ryans’ IDP value. He’s barely an LB3 option this week.

Matthews split time with Brian Rolle in the nickel and finished with four tackles. He continues to struggle to get off blocks and was lucky that Lance Kendricks dropped a couple passes behind him. The Eagles are banking on Matthews improving as his rookie year moves on.

Matthews was overmatched in the middle, which came as no surprise to anyone who watched the Eagles in preseason action. They are the NFL’s 30th-ranked run defense through two weeks. Jamar Chaney and Brian Rolle are expected to continue to hold down nickel-backer duties.

And with that, the Casey Matthews experiment is officially over. The Eagles tried to make the fourth-round rookie their starting middle linebacker, but he flopped badly and lost that job. They then tried Matthews on the weak side, and he blew that chance, too. The athletic Rolle is better than coverage, but is now one of the smallest starting linebackers (5'10/229) in football. The Eagles will remain a plus matchup for fantasy backs going forward.

Struggling rookie Casey Matthews will stay in the starting lineup at the “WILL” position, with Moise Fokou opposite him at “SAM.” It’s a move that should have been made a long time ago as Chaney is more talented and more prepared to lead the Eagles’ defense. IDP owners should note that Chaney had 40 tackles over the final four games of last season, including the playoffs. He’s a player.